Patch Over Filly
by DrtyDiva
Summary: Ryan is a girl running from her gangster boo past in Oakland. With a little sister in tow she seeks shelter in Charming. When her car breaks down in front of Teller-Morrow a chance meeting with the business end of a Mayan drive-by her life will change once again. Is Charming ready for Ryan? Is Chibs? And is Ryan really ready for SAMCRO?
1. Welcome to Charming

"Kyle, please." Ryan looked at her sister through the rearview mirror. They had been sitting in the car for nearly twenty minutes. Kyle was mean mugging her something fierce. For a seven year old she could be down right scary when she wanted to be.

"There aren't even any black kids at this school." Kyle pouted.

"That's the point Kyle. This is Wonderland here. Grass, trees, fresh air. Kids who actually use a playground to play and not shoot up or sucking dick on the monkey bars. No drive-byes and no ho stroll. So get your butt out of the car and go to school." Ryan was tired of arguing with her sister about going to school. She really was.

Kyle snatched her book bag off the seat and threw open the car door. Ryan winced. Her car was taking a beating a beating today. "Kyle wait." she called rolling down the window. Her sister turned around and glared at her. "I love you." Ryan knew that she wasn't the favorite of Kyle. She didn't blame the girl. After their mother died she went on a slow roll to the pits of hell and she didn't care who she hurt on the way down.

Kyle's startled surprise almost killed Ryan. Had she never said that to her sister? "I love you too," then she was off. The magic of the moment broken.

Ryan wanted to call her back, but she didn't.

Ryan sat in the car to watch her little sister scamper off into her new school. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest as she replayed the look of shock on Kyle's face.

It was in that moment that it finally slammed home how much she had lost in the last few months. The tears started to roll slowly down her face.

Harlow's murder thundered to the forefront of her mind. Ryan had to grip the steering wheel to keep from crying out. It still hurt to think about her.

Harlow had been the ultimate big sister. Always there when she needed to be. Always prepared. She could have been the Boy Scout pin up girl. Harlow was the best of humanity. She never gave up on Ryan. Never judged her, never turned her away. The tears started to roll faster.

The Bell sisters had grown up in a crack addicted house. Their mother gave new meaning to crackhead. She woke up with a speedball and stayed awake with her crack pipe glued to her lips. Their mother had turned their home into a shooting gallery to earn crack money. Selling space for neighborhood crack addicts to come and shoot up. All hours of the day and night strangers stumbled into the house handed off a grubby ten dollar bill and took their wares to some corner of the house to get high.

It got so bad that Harlow used to corral them into the only livable bedroom and deadbolt the door. Just to keep them safe, but still it wasn't enough.

Ryan had hid in the closet one night as one of their mother's dealers raped Harlow as payment for some crack he had fronted her. When he was done he had passed her off to another guy in his crew.

Ryan had spent nearly seven hours in that closet. Ryan knew she wouldn't have been able to handle it, but Harlow cried and then she went on with her life. Never mentioned it, never let it slow her down. Ryan never told her she had witnessed the rape, but after she had been blessed into the Niners she asked for the dealer's head on a platter.

Slim let her pull the trigger.

She shook herself back into the present day. The ghost of her mother had long since been buried. It had taken all Ryan had to get out of Oakland.

More than money, it had taken Harlow's life.

She slapped the steering wheel. Ryan refused to let anymore tears fall. She couldn't keep blaming herself for Harlow's death. It wasn't her fault. She had made the mistake of falling in love with the wrong guy and thinking that the Niners were family. That was her fault, but Slim killing her sister was on his head.

Ryan shook herself and started up her car before she got arrested for being a creeper or something sitting out in front of Charming Elementary. She pointed her car toward Main Street. She had to get to work if she was going to pay for this new life she was going to give her baby sister. It was the least she could do.

Charming had been the perfect escape for Ryan and Kyle. It was close enough to reach on the tank of gas she had left Oakland with and it was crawling with SAMCRO. The Niners would never chase her over the border to drag her back. White biker trash and her .45 were going to secure the life her little sister deserved.

If there was one thing that she learned getting smacked around by Slim, it was SAMCRO owned Charming and the Niners stayed away. Every black gang or MC from L.A to Mexico gave Charming a wide berth. The Sons ruled Charming with an iron fists and if the Niners wanted to keep getting their guns they were going to keep everything peachy with the Sons.

So it was the only solution that she had. Short of trying to make it China or someplace.

Which was a good thing. Being a young black woman in a town with a -1% black population was glaring enough. At least she had a good reason for being there.

Her car wheezed. "Come on baby," it was a real POS Toyota, but it had been cheap and it ran. The kid she bought it from told her it wouldn't last long, but she was hoping he had been trying to get more money out of her. The car had been more than what Ryan had needed at the time of her and Kyle's escape.

It coughed again. Then the damn thing stalled.

Ryan slammed her palm against the dash in frustration. "Not today. Come on." She turned the key and pumped the gas. The car shuddered once then stilled. Even the radio blinked off.

She couldn't be late on her first day of work. It had taken all her powers of persuasion to get the job in the first place. She climbed out of her car to see that the engine was coughing up a cloud of black smoke. "Damnit you worthless piece of shit." she growled.

She knew about as much as cars as she did Trigonometry.

This was going to be a long day she could see it already. It was barely 9 a.m. She could feel the heat creeping up the nape of her shirt. She had to get to work. She only had enough money to pay the rent for three months. That didn't include all the other bills.

Like a sister with a bad attitude and a need to punish Ryan by spending money she knew Ryan didn't have.

Ryan lifted the hood and almost chocked on the smog that billowed out into her face. "Fucking hell," she muttered as she tried to draw air into her lungs.

"Now that's no way for a lady to talk." A voice called.

Ryan whirled around almost reaching for the gun in her purse. "What..." she stammered once she took in the SAMCRO stamped on the man's chest.

He grinned as he leaned against her car. "Need a hand," He asked pointing to her car.

The man had a strange accent that Ryan had never heard before. He was impressively tall. Well it didn't take much to be taller than Ryan. She was barely five feet tall. Kyle was going to be taller than she was. He wasn't skinny, but he wasn't fat. Ryan would have called him healthy.

Her certainly filled out his jeans and kutt nicely. She couldn't tell how old he was because his beard was salt and peppered something fierce, but he wasn't wrinkled like most old guys. He did have a pair of reading glasses shoved up into his black hair.

He boasted wicked scars on both sides of his face. On anyone else Ryan was sure they would have marred and disfigured, but he wore it well. He had more facial hair than Ryan liked, but he wasn't her man. For someone covering in grease he still smelled good. Ryan had to shake her head to clear it.

She kicked her tire. "My car broke down Captain Obvious." Sarcasm was her default emotion, and it covered up her obvious attraction to the man.

"I can see that much lass." He told her. Throwing her attitude right back. "Need a hand anyway." He peered into her hood. He had to pull back to keep from inhaling the black smoke that was still spewing out of the car. "Locked your engine up." Ryan gave him a confused look. "Won't be going anywhere for awhile. Engine is shot to shit." He explained slowly.

"I'm not stupid." She snapped. "Just late for work on my first day." And she wasn't looking forward to the trek through Charming that seemed to be in her future. She slung her purse strap over her head and settled the bag on in her hip.

Chibs stared at Ryan as he watched her think. She was the tiny slip of a woman, but the attitude coming off her made her larger than life. She was the color of polished mahogany with blue black hair that swung across her face covering one eye. The wind changed and he caught a hint of perfume. It made his head swim. Like a good blunt.

She tugged her bottom lip into her mouth and scrunched up her forehead. It was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. "If you need a ride I've got a tow truck." He offered. She couldn't have been more than 23, 24 but her eyes held miles of bad road. He wanted to know her story. He wanted to know her.

She narrowed her eyes at him and he stepped back. He threw his hands up in surrender. She was a feisty one. Like Fiona. Though she was a hell of a lot darker than his ex-wife. Like candy bar dark. Good enough to eat. "Just an offer, but you can walk." He turned around to head back into the Teller-Morrow lot.

"No wait," Ryan reached out and touched his arm. "Look I'm sorry. Its been a rough couple a days." She sighed. The hair in front of her face puffed out revealing a pair of startling deep brown eyes. "That doesn't mean I have to be an asshole to you." She didn't know what was wrong with her. She had been jumpy since she left O-Town.

Chibs didn't back away from her touch. He saw the faint outline of a tattoo circling her wrist. Ryan snatched her hand back pulling the sleeve of her shirt over the scar. "Don't need to hide your ink from me lass." He gave her a faint smile. "I've got enough ink for two men." Not to mention he liked her touching him.

She peeked out at him from behind the curtain of her hair. "Its not something I want to advertise." she told him.

He nodded. He found it refreshing that she wasn't covered from head to toe in ink. There was nothing worse than a beautiful woman covering herself up with ugly biker tattoos. "You new around here?" Chibs said it as a statement.

She popped her hip out and threw out a smile. The shyness was gone. Ms Attitude was back. "Is it that obvious?" She gave him a smile.

Chibs' heart danced a jib. It had been a long time since a beautiful woman smiled at him just because she could. "Pretty much. I can count on one hand how many black people live in Charming." He didn't have a problem with black people. His ex-wife was black. Well the Irish version of black and at the time he had set Belfast ablaze with their union. "And I think they are all related." He added.

Ryan's voice punched through his trip down memory lane. "Well this was the safest place I could think of." She popped her hand on her hip. "You work at that garage?" She asked with a jerk of her head toward the TM sign above his head.

"Most days." He wiped his hand on the rag that he pulled out of his back pocket.

Ryan was about to ask if he thought he could do something with her POS when a squeal of tires turning on a dime pulled her attention to the intersection. She had grown up in Oakland. Tits deep in gang activity.

She knew a drive-by when she heard one. On an instinctive level she reached for her gun and brought it out.

Chibs' eyes widen and he reached for his gun ready to shot Ryan, not seeing the danger pulling up behind him. Ryan pushed him toward the fence. "Get down stupid." she shouted.

Men. They were still slow on the uptake.

Chibs stumbled under her weak shove but turned around to face the actual threat. Three Mayans hung out the open windows on a green Honda. She fired off two rounds before he even cocked the hammer on his gun.

She hit one in the shoulder. He nearly fell out of the car. His comrades showered the street with bullets in response. Ryan squealed and danced around avoiding the gunfire, but kept on shooting back.

Chibs grabbed ahold of Ryan's wrist and yanked her into the Teller-Morrow lot. "Got incoming!" he shouted.

The rest of the Sons moved into action. Tig and Jax were the first out of the clubhouse and the to reach him with guns drawn. They riddled the car and the Mayans with bullets. Half-Sack jumped down to throw the gate closed. He was met with more bullets ripping through the plastic coverings.

Ryan fired off a few shots before Chibs shoved her behind him. Everyone was scrambling around ducking for cover and firing off shots. Ryan fell away from Chibs and fell flat on her tail.

The pavement was not forgiving. She swore enough to make a sailor blush.

She heard the car finally race off down the street as the rest of the club spilled out of various buildings. A few of them got off random shots before everything went quiet. If Ryan had to guess she would have said the whole thing lasted maybe 30 seconds.

If it had happened to anyone else they would have been in a right panic about getting shot at, but Ryan had grown up around drive-byes. She had gotten over her fear of bullets a long time ago, but her tail bone had taking a beating though. That was a new one.

Chibs turned to pull her to her feet. He saw her wince. He caught her around the waist to steady her. In that heartbeat that he held her something passed between them. Ryan couldn't have said what it was, but the moment was shattered as if it never happened.

"Who the fuck is that?" Ryan whirled around with her gun pointed at the speaker. Chibs stumbled back. It wasn't smart to sneak up a hood woman with a gun.

"Whoa." Jax held up his hands.

Chibs snatched Ryan back by the waist. "Easy there lass. He's a friendly" He growled in her ears. He couldn't hid the arousal in his voice.

Ryan shivered as his breath tickled her ear. She didn't want to admit how much she enjoyed the contact. She held up her gun in surrender. "You can set me down now." Chibs chuckled as she dropped her to the pavement.

He however didn't let go of her.

"What just happened Chibs?" Jax shouted still eyeballing Ryan.

"Mayans. The filly here pulled a piece and shot back." He indicated Ryan who gave Jax a little finger wave.

"The filly has a name. It's Ryan thank you very much." She told both men.

"What are you doing here Ryan?" Jax asked not giving her an inch. He folded his arms across his chest.

"You mind toning down the attitude. I'm dangerously close to my period and I've got another clip in my purse. I just saved your guy's life." She jerked her head back towards Chibs. "My car broke down and he was offering to help." She dropped her gun into her purse.

Jax blinked at the woman. Ryan stared right back. "You just happened to have a .9 mm in your purse?" Yeah most SAMCRO women carried guns, but he didn't know this black chick from Adam and she was standing in the TM lot waving a gun around.

He had shot people for less.

"I look like a short eighth grader with a C cup. Girl like me needs a big gun." She told him with a pointed look.

"What sort of girl are you? We got enough crow eaters around here." He sneered at Ryan. Any other day she would have smacked him, but his kutt held her back. If she smacked a Son she might end up a hood ornament back in Oakland.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't know what the fuck a crow eater is, but check your tone when you talk to me." The girl can get out of Oakland, but Oakland wasn't going to get out of the girl. "My car broke down. You and the Backstreet Boys pissed of some Mexicans. Deal with that before you get all in my face." She stepped out of Chibs' embrace and toward Jax who returned the gesture.

Chibs grabbed her arm before her and Jax came to blows. "I'll deal with her." Chibs offered.

Jax nodded and wandered back to the clubhouse to deal with the shoot out. Tig wagged his eyebrows, but followed Jax back into the clubhouse.

Chibs steered Ryan back outside the gate after he checked that it was safe. "You always mouth off to total strangers?" He closed the hood to her car.

"No, just the special ones. So who was Blonde Ambition back there?" She wanted to kick the car again, but kicking a animal when its down wasn't sporting.

She kicked the door. She wasn't in a sporting mood.

Chibs laughed. "Blonde Ambition?" A black eyebrow rose up into his hairline.

Ryan shrugged, "All you white boys look alike. Gotta get creative to tell you apart." She shared in his laughter. The smile slipped from her face. She didn't know what she was going to do without her car. "Shit. I've got to pick my sister up from school." Was anything going to go right today?

Here she was flirting with a Son like she was a debutant fresh off the boat.

"How old is she?" Chibs asked.

"Seven." She leaned against the car. "Are you taking a survey on me or something?" she asked him with a smile.

"Do you mind the questions?" He offered her a smile.

"Not with you asking. Where are you from? Cali don't grow fruit like you." He was older she was sure. Half his beard was sporting white or grey hair, but on him it didn't look bad.

"Born in Scotland but raised in Ireland." He took in how her jeans wrapped tightly around her ass.

"Why did you come to the States? Thought everything was better over there." Ryan had only been out of California once. She been to Las Vegas once. She thought it was a trip of a lifetime. She shook her head. She didn't want to think about Slim anymore.

"What were you thinking?" He asked softly. "You got this funny look on your face." He reached out and grasped her hand. Both parties were surprised.

Chibs blushed. "Nothing important." Well nothing she was going to share. Slim was something she wanted to lock away in her mental filing cabinet. "So what's your name? Unless you want me calling you Gramps." She offered a smile.

"Chibs." He told her.

"Is your name really Chibs?" Her nose crinkled.

"Its a nickname. Chib means blade in Scotland."

"So whats your real name?" They were still holding hands Ryan noticed. It was weird. She couldn't remember Slim ever holding her hand. Unless he was yanking her around.

"Filip." There were precious few people who knew his real name. He had been Chibs so long it was a wonder he still knew. "You can call me that if you want."

She nodded. "I would like that."

He pulled his hand back. "You ride?" he asked walking back into the TM lot to get his bike.

Ryan trotted after him. "Once." They were walking up to a row of black Harley's. Ryan thought they looked like they were the devil's personal hogs. She eyed the things like they owed her money.

He handed her a helmet and climbed on his Harley. "You want me to ride bitch?" she asked slipping the helmet carefully over her hair.

He fixed his eyes on her, "I ain't riding bitch on my own bike." He told her. There was a lot of things he was willing to let Ryan do to him, but taking the handles on his bike was not going to be one of them.

Ryan smirked as she slide in behind him.

The rest of the Sons gathered under the shade of the club overhang. It had been a long time since they had seen Chibs share his bike with anyone.

Ryan wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled in tight. Chibs wanted to sigh when her small breasts pressed into his back. He revved the engine.

Ryan yelped as she felt the vibrations travel up her legs into her lower back and other places south of the border.

"More than the philly can handle?" Chibs chuckled.

"I can handle anything you got Irish." Ryan told him. He liked the nickname. He revved the engine again before peeling out of the lot to a lot of whoops and catcalls. Sometimes his brothers were worse than females.


	2. Kiss Me, I'm Irish

They rode through town in silence. Ryan held on tight to Chibs. It would have been a good time to learn her way around town, but she wasn't paying attention. It had taken all she had to get from the house to Kyle's school, but she was too busy trying to keep her heart from pounding out of her chest. She was sure Chibs could feel it through her shirt, and his kutt.

"Where am I taking you?"

"Um that new cupcake place on Trenton." It was hard to get a job when you were 26, never graduated high school and never held a job. She had been with Slim since he started running dope in middle school. The only thing she could fill out was her personal information. Even that hadn't been much. She didn't know what her social security number was and worse she didn't know where the card was. Harlow had taken care of things like that.

She clung on hard when Chibs took a hard right onto Trenton.

He pulled up right in front of Ma Bakers Cupcakes. It was a cute little shop with the smell of vanilla wafting out of the open door. Ryan had always loved sweets and baking was actually the one thing she did pick up from her solitary year in high school, and it was the only thing she did well without thinking about it.

She nearly had to jump down from the bike to get off with some semblance of grace. She removed the helmet and stowed it behind Chibs.

"Thanks for the ride Irish. Don't know what to say about the shoot out." She smiled to show she was teasing.

Chibs climbed off his bike. Up close Ryan could see how much taller he was. He was easily 5'10. Which put him a whole foot and three inches taller than her. She turned to walk into the shop and beg for her job back when Chibs snagged Ryan's wrist and pulled her back.

Before she could say anything he planted a hard and fast kiss on her lips.

Ryan's entire body stiffen at the contact. She was fighting the urge to knee him in the groin. Chibs wrapped his arms around her gently. She relaxed into his embrace. She could feel his heart racing against her chest. Ryan gripped his arms as he deepened the kiss. His tongue slowly stroking her from the inside. Ryan sagged in his arms. It was the most delicious kiss she had ever experienced. Chibs chuckled against her mouth before pulling back.

When they broke apart they were both panting. Ryan looked at him. She had never kissed a white guy before. She was pleasantly surprised that she liked it. Or rather she liked kissing him.

"That was for the shoot out." He explained. He gave her a smile as he climbed back on his bike. He revved the engine and gunned it down the road.

Ryan couldn't wipe the grin that was plastered on her face. Filip had been bold in kissing her. She still had her .9 in her purse, but he had taken the chance.

Ryan pulled her phone out of her purse to arrange for Kyle to ride the bus home. Kyle had a key and she was used to taking care of herself. Hell she probably did it better than Ryan, but if she wanted to stay out of foster care she was stuck with Ryan fumbling around trying to learn the ropes. It was a simple five minute phone call. She told the lady that Kyle would be a bus rider from now on. No use drawing out the torture for either of them. Kyle needed to make friends anyways, she told herself. She was not going to feel guilty about letting someone else take care of getting her little sister to and from school.

"Glad to see you finally showed up for work." Ma Baker snapped as the bells above the door tinkled when Ryan walked in.

"Car trouble. I'm really sorry." She said shedding her purse and reaching for a apron.

"Looks like you got Son trouble too. Stay away from them SAMCRO boys. Nothing but heartache and bullets come from being a crow eater." Ma said. She slide a tray of chocolate cupcakes into the display case.

"What the hell is a crow eater?" Blonde Ambition had called her that. She was now sure she didn't like it one little bit.

"Women of the club." Ma didn't have the heart to tell her what sort of women they were. Ma wasn't stupid. She knew what sort of girl Ryan was. She had seen enough of them living in Charming with the Sons being a permanent fixture.

They've left scorned, pissed, pregnant, and crazed women all over town and the west coast.

Ma had seen Ryan's scares, the hurt, the pain. More importantly she had seen the bulge of the gun in her purse. Ma normally stayed out of club politics and the gang activity, but the look on Ryan's face when she had said she didn't need any help almost brought her to tears.

"He just gave me a ride. I don't know why he kissed me." Ryan didn't know why she felt she had to explain anything to Ma. She wasn't her mother. Her mother was worm food six feet under. Ma grunted but didn't say anything else.

The rest of the day was a blur. Ryan worked back in the kitchen by herself. Ma had showed her the recipes and left her to it. Ryan was grateful for the peace and quiet of the kitchen.

The warm air was thick with the smell of sugar, flour and vanilla. It was a balm that soothed the storm clouds in Ryan's mind. Ryan couldn't remember a time she had been alone. The house she grew up in had been crawling with all manner of bottom feeders. Then she had her sisters. They never strayed too far from each other in those days. They had to watch each other's backs.

Then there was Slim and the Niners. When she had gotten in she was always at the club. Even before she was old enough to have a period she had been serving drinks at the bar for the members. And doing other things she wasn't proud of now that she had the time to think about the sum total of her life.

Then there had been all of their girls, and babies. She had always been surrounded but people and noise. She had never just stolen away to get a moment of quietness to herself. In the warm kitchen she realized that she liked being alone. It gave her mind space to relax and not think about anything. Her hands moved without any mental prompting from her. She mixed, measured, baked, cooled and iced on auto-pilot.

She didn't even realize she had worked through lunch till Ma poked her head into the kitchen.

"Closing time Ryan. Clean up the kitchen and you can take those extra red velvets for Kyle." Then she was gone. Kyle was going to be spoiled if Ma kept giving her cupcakes. But she wasn't going to complain. Right now cupcakes were the only thing that kept them from starving.

She started on the closing procedures Ma had taught her. She had to clean everything since flour liked to land on every conceivable surface in the kitchen. Ryan was thankful it was a small kitchen. It was a perfect square with four industrial Bloddgett ovens along one wall. The sinks, dishwasher and drying racks took up another. The open shelving pantry another and finally the fridge and freezer another. Two baking centers dominated the middle of the room with two mixers in between them.

She nearly buckled under the weight of the industrial mixing bowl she had been using. It nearly weighed as much as she did. Well no if she were honest the thing weighed more than she did.

45 minutes later the kitchen was spankingly clean. With a satisfied smile she hung up her apron and pushed through the door back into the display area.

She was rocked back on her heels when Filip stood up to greet her.

"Came to escort you home." He said sheepishly. A slow blush crawled up around his scars. He had changed out of his garage attire. He was wearing a pair of black slacks, a grey t-shirt, a black vest and his kutt. His hair was slicked back and his beard trimmed.

Deep red spots blossomed on Ryan's cheeks as well. He looked good and Ryan was covered in flour. "Escort me home have you?" She slapped his arm to cover up her blush. "Maybe I should get shot at more if this is the treatment I get." She took him by the hand and led him out of the shop.

They left Ma to turn out the lights and lock up for the night. Well scratch that. It wasn't night. It was only 6 o'clock. In Ryan's old life she would have just been waking up to start her day, but in Charming people were packing up ready to turn in for the night.

She climbed onto the back of Filip's bike without a second thought. Her arms went around his waist automatically. He pointed his bike back up the street. Ryan was finding she liked riding. Well with Filip she did.

"Where are we going?" she yelled over the wind in her ears. She was glad she was wearing her helmet. Her hair would have taken a beating. She didn't have the money to get it fixed right now.

"The clubhouse. I've got a meeting. Then I can take you home." he answered.

He felt her shrug. The movement sent her breasts sliding up and down his back. The bike wobbled. Ryan squealed and clutched onto Chibs tighter. "Can you handle this bike Irish?" she yelled.

Chibs didn't say anything. He didn't trust his voice right now.

When they pulled into the TM lot Chibs backed his bike into his spot. He had to rearrange the front of his leathers to hide his serious chubby when he climbed off.

After fixing himself he took Ryan by the hand and led her into the clubhouse. It was a good thing she was wearing sneakers as she wasn't so much walking as just being pulled along.

They slipped into the clubhouse without anyone the wiser. Ryan could hear a party going on, but Chibs didn't give her a chance to see anything else. He pushed her up against the wall away from the lights and his brothers. He pressed his body tight against Ryan.

He could feel her nipples hardened underneath her shirt. He couldn't stop the groan that escaped his lips. Ryan shuddered. "Will you wait for me?" he whispered into her ear. She nodded. She had forgotten how to talk. He dropped his eyes down to look her straight in the eyes. She was biting her lip again.

"You keep biting your lip like that and I'm going to fuck you in the doorway." He breathed. She popped the lip out of her mouth. He gave her a another kiss.

When they broke apart the entire clubhouse erupted in catcalls and whistles.

Ryan blushed. Actually blushed all the way down to her toenails.

The music was blaring from the speakers when they finally walked in properly. As she guessed a party was in full swing. A few of the Sons were enjoying some of the party favors.

Chibs pointed out and named all his brothers for her. She was still going to call Jax Blonde Ambition. Seemed to suit him better. The one called Tig was already tits deep in a pair of blondes. He radiated crazed menace and Ryan was sure she needed to stay away from him at all times. The fat one called Bobby looked about as threatening as moldy bread, but if he was a Son he knew how to handle himself.

The wizened grandpa with the oxygen machine was entertaining some of the girls with a rousing tale that had tears of laughter rolling down their cheeks. Grizzly Adams whom Chibs had told her was the club president and called Clay was barking order into his phone.

The young one names Juice was playing pool. The prospect, Half Sack was slinging drinks behind the bar.

Now that Clay was done with his phone conversation Gemma, the queen been, was trying to sooth whatever had pissed him. They started slow dancing to the music like there wasn't anyone else in the clubhouse.

Ryan was familiar with this scene. Well not with so many white people, but she was getting the picture.

Chibs led Ryan over to one of the couches. He was giving everyone a show. If he didn't they would never leave him and Ryan alone. She wished she had been given a chance to change. If there was one thing Ryan knew how to do was clean up to be put on display.

He caught Ryan glaring at everyone daring someone to say something about the flour on her jeans. He wasn't sure they wouldn't. "Its alright. Its me they are looking at not you." he whispered to her.

She nodded. She was the only black person in the clubhouse. Ryan wasn't sure she liked those odds. Chibs settled her on one of the couches with a kiss to the forehead and a promise not to be too long. The club meeting Chibs had to get to started. Ryan thought it sweet that Irish was trying to keep things from her. For her own good she was sure. Either he didn't know who she used to be or he was just being that sweet. She was going to stick with the sweet routine.

All the Sons kissed their dates before disappearing behind their inner sanctum.

Half Sack handed Ryan a drink. Ryan sipped her rum and coke. For the first time in her life she was not trying to get wasted. She had a sister to look after. She couldn't do that if she was drunk. And she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of Chibs.

"So honey who the fuck are you?" Gemma asked as she sat down on the couch across from Ryan.

Ryan cut her eyes at the woman. She had to be in her late forties, early fifties. She was a seasoned bitch, Ryan could tell. And the way that everyone was giving her a wide berth let Ryan know that she was the top bitch in this pound.

"Ryan." she answered simply.

"What are you doing here with Chibs?"

"He picked me up from work and said he needed to take care of some business before he took me home." Ryan hated bullies and Gemma seemed the sort of woman that took pride in her bullying ability.

Before Ryan could finish the door the war room burst open and all the Sons poured out. They were dressed head to toe in black. Chibs' hair was held back by a black bandana. They were all business. Business meant someone was going to have a bad night.

Ryan knew enough not to ask any questions or say anything.

They were gone as quickly as they appeared. Gemma trailed after them. Ryan finished the rest of her drink. It looked like it was going to be a long night. They were running off to do club business. Ryan had seen enough with the Niners to know that.

She settled into the couch to wait for Chibs to get back. She had no other way to get home and she didn't mind. There was only so much TV she could watch.

The one they called Half Sack sat down across from Ryan. "Where you from?"

"Oakland." She turned to look at him. He was sort of cute. If you were into the skinny, unwashed boy band reject. Which she wasn't. Ryan was finding she was into the scarred, Irish, older man type.

"What are you doing in Charming." She wanted to roll her eyes. She was not in the mood to make friend right now. She hated waited and worse she hated waiting when she didn't have anything to do, but Half Sack was just trying to be friendly she couldn't take her impatience out on him.

He didn't know any better.

"You guys sure are nosy." she told him. "I needed the change of scenery." And that was the honest truth. "Why aren't you out with the Sons?" If he wanted to talk she could talk.

"I'm just a prospect. I only go when they let me." She nodded. They talked for nearly an hour. She found out that he had been in the military, did a stint in Iraq. She wished she didn't know why he was called Half Sack. She could have done without that story, but at least he could make it funny.

The Sons filed back into the clubhouse. Blonde Ambition was wincing and several of them were spattered with blood. Chibs was the last one through the door. Ryan was off the couch in an instant.

She almost bowled Chibs over. "Oh fuck. Are you hurt?" Her hands were flying all over Chibs' body checking for bullet holes.

"Geez woman calm down. I'm not hurt," He said grabbing her hands.

She snatched her hands back and punched him in the stomach, "Don't you ever scare me like that." Her heart was pounding. She had never been scared when Slim went out to do whatever it was that he did. Sometimes she wished that he had caught a bullet, but seeing Chibs with blood on his shirt had almost sent her into cardiac arrest. She couldn't pinpoint why. She had just met him.

"Glad to see you care," He grabbed a kiss before pulling her down the hallway towards the bathroom. He closed the door then stripped out of his kutt and bloodied shirt.

"Is this how all your first dates start?" she asked as she ran some water on a towel. She turned Chibs around and started to clean the blood from his chest and face.

"Not usually." He told her with a small smile. "We had some club business and it got a little hairy."

"Really," she looked up at him. She rang the bath towel out in the sink. "Thought my days of patching up..." she shook her head and turned around to throw the towel away.

"You were with a banger?" Chibs asked.

Ryan nodded, "Yeah. He's a Niner."

"That why you came to Charming? You running from him?" he winced as he rotated his shoulder. Those Mayans had been heavier than he thought.

She looked back at him. "Sort of." She sat down on the closed toilet seat and sighed. "My sister Harlow was trying to get us all away from Oakland. We had been saving up money for awhile. But the feds picked her up thinking she was me and Harlow made a deal to get us into Witness Protection. LaRoy found out and had my sister killed. Slim pulled the trigger. I grabbed my sister whatever we could carry and left. Figured Charming was the safest place for us all things considered." she looked up at Chibs.

He had an odd expression on his face that she couldn't place. He pulled her up by the hands but didn't say anything. "You ready to go home?"

Ryan nodded. He pulled his cloths back on. They left the bathroom. Most of the other Sons were too busy with whatever chick they found themselves with to notice them slipping out of the door.

Ryan slapped on her helmet and climbed behind Chibs. She was careful not to hold on too tight. The bike growled to life under her. She could get used to riding a motorcycle. She wondered if Chibs would ever let her drive his bike.

The James abode was a mission style home on one of the nicer streets in Charming. Ryan had never dreamt that she would end up in a house like this, but she liked it. It was a huge house for the price. It boasted five bedrooms with four bathrooms. There was a sunroom off the kitchen, formal living room, family room a chef's kitchen and a fully finished basement. Ma Baker had sent her to a friend she knew that needed someone to look after the house since it wouldn't sell. The family had been relocated to Seattle.

The family had given Ryan a deal she knew. The rent wasn't enough to cover the mortgage, but she wasn't going to turn down the obvious charity. She wasn't stupid. Ryan had snapped it up and it offered her and Kyle a modicum of security. The white neighbors were nosy little beasts. She didn't think for a minute that they wouldn't hesitate to call the police if a suspicious cat were lurking in the trees.

Chibs pulled into her driveway and quickly cut the engine. It was nearly two am and she was glad that he was clued into the fact that she lived in a residential part of town. He helped her climb off his bike.

And he actually walked her to the front door. She couldn't remember a time when she had been treated like a proper lady. Well she had never been treated that way if she were being honest with herself.

Ryan dug in her purse for her keys and in her nervous state dropped them on the porch. Chibs chuckled and bent to retrieve them for her. "Didn't think there was anything that could make you nervous." He said slipping the keys into the door and turning the lock.

"You make me nervous," she admitted. He pushed the door open for her as she stepped inside.

Chibs leaned against the door jamb, "Why do I make you nervous?" His eyes twinkled with mischief.

"The way you look at me." She tried not to squirm.

"And how do I look at you?" He was enjoying this conversation immensely.

"Like I'm Miss Universe or something. Like I'm special." She put her hands on her hips to give her hands something to do.

Chibs didn't say anything for a couple of seconds. Before Ryan could ask what was wrong he captured her face in his hands and kissed it. It wasn't like before. It wasn't hard and fast. It was soft, slow, gentle. Ryan would have melted to the floor if he hadn't been holding her.

Ryan didn't know how long they stood there kissing but her body was on fire when they broke apart. "You talk too much woman," he breathed against her cheek. Ryan nodded.

"Do you want to come in?" she asked. He nodded and kicked the door closed.

It took her moment to remember how to walk. They moved from the small foyer into the interior of the house. The formal living room was to the left and the dining room was to the right. They were two rooms that neither Ryan nor her sister wanted to touch. The furniture didn't look the sort that people actually used. The rest of the house was getting plenty of use. Kyle was curled up on the couch in the family room with the remote laid across her chest. She was snoring softly. There was an empty plate and glass on the coffee table in front of her.

Ryan moved to pick her up to carry her into her room. "Let me get her," Chibs offered. Ryan gave him a raised eyebrow but she stepped back.

Chibs pulled Kyle into her arms. She snorted but settled down with her tiny arms wrapped around his neck. He followed Ryan up the stairs to Kyle's room. Ryan plugged in her Batman nightlight before gently closing the door.

"She's beautiful," Chibs whispered. Ryan nodded. Kyle was pretty. She looked like a mini version of their mother. Well before the crack got to their mother.

"Looks like our mom." she told him. Well before the crack got to their mother. Asia James had been a queen among woman. Beautiful from the inside out. Right down to her perfect toenails.

Till the crack got ahold of her. Ryan hated looking at pictures of her mother before her downfall. It was painfully to see what she had left behind.

Ryan cleared her throat before the tears could start again. "You have kids?" She asked as they headed back downstairs. Ryan had opted for the master bedroom as opposed to the bedrooms upstairs. She thought it smart to give Kyle her space as they grew to know each other. They were sisters but Ryan had spent most of her sister's life running the streets.

"Aye. Daughter about 16 in Ireland. Kerriann." She pulled a beer out of the fridge and offered it to Chibs. He took it gratefully.

"Do you get to see her much?" Thankfully Ryan had been smart when it came to being with Slim. As soon as she had been able to she had started swallowing birth control like tic tacs. There was no way she wanted to be a baby mama. Especially with Slim's child. That would have tired her to him forever.

She tucked her feet under herself as they sat on the couch. She flipped the channel to ESPN figuring Chibs wouldn't want to see The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

"No. Haven't seen her since she was born." He took a long pull from his beer.

"I'm sorry." Ryan knew what it felt like to be an abandoned child, but she didn't think Chibs had willingly abandoned his kid. He didn't seem the type.

"Don't be. Not your fault." He finished his beer. Ryan had to smile. It took a special man to drain a beer in two gulps. "Why you sitting so far away?" He didn't want to keep talking about his daughter and certainly not about Ireland.

He set his beer on the coffee table and eyed Ryan with a dark hunger that stirred things in her belly.

"I'm scared." she told him softly.

"You scared." he chuckled. "Of me?"

She shook her head. "Of this." she gestured between the two of them. "I spent my whole life as the property of someone. Never my own person, and I run into you during a drive by no less and we." Chibs grabbed by the ankle and slide her swiftly across the couch.

"You talk too much woman. You aren't the only one scared." He kissed her softly. "I've been alone nearly twenty years. Then curse your way into my head and I can't get you out." He kissed her again.

She forgot what else she wanted to tell him. They ended up in her bed. Naked without a care in the world.

Chibs made love to Ryan all night and half the morning. It was slow. It was delicious. Nothing like what she had experienced with Slim or any of the other guys she had been made to sleep with. It was if he actually cared if she was enjoying herself. Which she was. Much to her delight and utter pleasure.

Ryan was sure they woke up her sister, but she was damned if she cared.

The sun pierced through the gauzy curtains in the room. Ryan blinked herself awake. She was sore in all the right places for the right reasons. She yawned and rolled over expecting Chibs to be beside her, but she encountered a cold, empty space.

She sat up in the bed. Her heart squeezed. She had been stupid. She had enough street smarts to see when she was being played, but Chibs had fooled her. Made her think she was more to him than a piece of ass.

Ryan sat in the bed mentally kicking herself. Suddenly the sunlight seemed to be mocking the dark mood that was rolling in.

Her nose twitched. Someone was cooking in the kitchen. She threw on her robe and followed her nose into the kitchen. She was sure Kyle didn't know how to cook and she was scared to see what was happening.

"Irish." Ryan said her mouth falling open. Chibs was standing at the stove in his boxers and his kutt sliding a pan full of bacon onto a plate. Kyle was sitting at the counter in her school uniform watching him with a stupid grin on her face.

Chibs turned around and almost dropped the skillet onto the floor. Ryan's robe wasn't fully closed. "What are you doing?" she pulled her robe tighter together. At least to keep Chibs from burning the house to the ground staring.

"Making breakfast for the lass here." There was a pile of french toast and eggs already laid out on the counter. With a jug of orange juice.

Kyle giggled. Ryan had no idea how he had won over her sister, but she wasn't going to complain.

"Woman just sit down and eat." Chibs hip checked her into a chair.

Ryan sat and allowed Chibs to fill her plate with french toast and bacon. He gave Kyle bacon, eggs and two pieces of french toast. He piled the leftover onto his plate.

"Filip said he would teach me Gallic," Kyle announced around a mouthful of food.

"What's that?" The French toast was heavenly. She looked over at Chibs to make sure he was real. It couldn't be possible that a man who knew his way around the penal system could know how to cook like one of those food network chefs.

"The language they speak in Ireland." Kyle was being awful chipper in the morning. Usually she picked at the food Ryan made for her. Now to be fair Ryan was no chef. Sure she could bake, but chocolate cake in the morning was not a good breakfast.

The school bus pulled up and blew the horn. Kyle shoveled the rest of the food into her mouth before hopping off the stool. She waved to Chibs and dashed out of the kitchen to the idling bus.


End file.
